MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Injuries may prove more costly than the scoreboard for West Virginia after Saturday’s 42-31 loss to Texas.
Wide receivers Sam James and Sean Ryan both had to leave the game in the fourth quarter with injuries, and Ryan’s has already been deemed serious enough that he will be out for awhile.
“Sean, it doesn’t look good,” said WVU coach Neal Brown. “I hate it for him, because he played really well. He had his best week of practice and a really good bye week. But it looks like he’ll be out for a few weeks.”
Ryan was injured when he hit the ground hard after hauling in a 39-yard catch in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with five catches for 70 yards.
James never returned after getting hurt on West Virginia’s last offensive play of the third quarter. James had six catches for 66 yards. He landed on his shoulder when he was tackled on a 1-yard reception.
“Sam, I’ll be able talk about more on Tuesday,” Brown said. “He had a bit of an upper-[body] injury.”
Redshirt freshman Bryce Wheaton showed he can be a potential weapon in the absence of both players. Wheaton caught two balls for 43 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown pass.
“We have some young guys that are going to have to get out there and make some plays,” said co-offensive coordinator Matt Moore. “And we’ve got some older guys who have been here. Somebody’s got to step up. That’s all you can do. We’re not going to change what we’re doing.”